County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens wants those living in Cherokee to know that the upcoming, Constitutionally required U.S. Census is “important, easy and safe.”
Ahrens is leading the charge of the county’s “Complete Count Committee” to publicize the arrival of census forms in the mail, scheduled for early- to mid-March, and the importance of filling them out and returning them by April 1.
He said he is hoping to increase the amount of forms returned for this census significantly over Cherokee’s return in 2000, when about 70 percent of the forms sent out were returned.
“Momentum is picking up,” Ahrens said. “There is now a Georgia-specific Web site, www.census.ga.gov.”
He noted that March 8-14 was declared “Georgia Census Week,” and that the county is running ongoing advertisements in the Ledger-News in order to reach more than 100,000 readers.
The county is setting up questionnaire assistance centers open Mondays –Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse in Canton, 100 North St., and at the Woodstock South Annex, 7545 Main St., Building 200.
“We plan an insert in Cherokee County Water and Sewer Authority (CCWSA) March invoices,” Ahrens said, noting that he hopes local cities will join in by putting the notice in their water bills, as well.
Ahrens also is reaching out to homeowners associations and local businesses to post information on the census.
“More than $400 billion a year – $4 trillion over 10 years – in federal and state funding is directly tied to census data,” Ahrens noted. “House of Representatives’ seats and city/county voting districts also are determined by the count.”
Census data also guides local decision-makers in planning efforts, such as where to build new roads, schools and hospitals.
The 2010 census questionnaire includes 10 questions per primary resident and seven for each occupant. All information is completely confidential. The census is required to be returned by law.
For more information, visit www.cherokeega.com/2010census.cfm.
